1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the display, arrangement and rotation of products such as those packaged in bottles, jars, cans, and boxes, and more particularly to an improved product display, arrangement and rotation system and method in which products displayed on a display shelf can easily be arranged or rotated to have the products""expiration dates kept safely up to date and to conveniently position the products manually near the front edge of the shelves for improved visual exposure and effortless selection by consumers.
2. Description of Related Art
Retail stores relying on the consumers to serve themselves have recognized the importance of displaying products near the front edge of display shelves so that the products can be readily seen by consumers and easily reached by the consumers. Customers typically remove products from the front of a display shelf, and products remaining toward the rear of display shelves are often difficult to reach.
Well operated retail stores have clerks move around the store periodically to check the status of goods and to make appropriate corrections by moving products toward the front of display shelves. There is a need to make this alignment process more efficient.
It is also desirable to properly rotate products on a display shelf so that the older products are sold before the newer products. A system for the easy rotation of products is needed to decrease the likelihood that a product will have to be discarded after reaching its expiration date.
The prior art provides some examples of automated or semi-automated shelf display alignment.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,155,438 to applicant describes a system and method for product display, arrangement and rotation. That patent includes a relatively fixed side frame which is typically held in place by magnetic attraction, and a pull frame attached to a rear member that is used to pull product forward on a shelf. That invention is appropriate for containers with straight side walls such as boxes and cans. The current invention is well-suited for containers such as bottles and jars with rounded, or otherwise non-linear side wall profiles.
The ""438 patent discusses prior art including U.S. Pat. No. 5,203,463 to Steven K. Gold which teaches the use of springs to push items to the front position on the display shelf; U.S. Pat. No. 5,240,126 to Foster which also uses a ribbon spring arrangement to advance a row of items forward; U.S. Pat. No. 5,240,125 to Kunz, which is similar to the ""126 patent, with the addition of a protective wire grid to prevent a glass jar from falling out of the device; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,123,546 to Crum which also uses a spring mechanism.
The invention relates to a device, system and method for displaying and rotating products generally forming a queue on a display surface such as a display shelf.
Some embodiments include two slide rails, one slide rail positioned on either side of a row of product containers. The containers are typically bottles or jars with rounded bottom sides. The slide rails preferably fit within the vacant space left by the rounded lower portion of a row of containers, or within the vacant space left by the lower portions of adjacent rows of containers so as not to take up valuable shelf space. The slide rails are connected to a rear element so that when the slide rails are pulled outward from the display shelf, the rear element engages the queue and pulls the remaining containers toward the front of the display shelf. A front pull element preferably connects the first slide rail with the second slide rail so that the two slide rails may be pulled at the same time and rate by pulling the front pull element.
In one embodiment, the slide rails, the front pull element, and the rear element are formed as a single wire frame. In other embodiments, a plate may serve as the rear element; a cover such as plastic tubing may be placed over the slide rails in order to increase the size of the slide rails in order to help stabilize the product containers; the device may be formed as a single unit, such as by injection molding; or the width between the slide rails may be adjusted.
In some embodiments according to the invention, the slide rail element includes indicia identifying the number of the products in the queue when the positioning element is moved so that the products are substantially aligned with the front portion of the surface. The indicia may also contain information corresponding to the products in the queue. Additionally, the indicia may be a bar code.
Another embodiment according to the invention comprises a temporary shelf basket for receiving products from the surface of the shelf to facilitate the rotation of older products from the rear portion of the surface to the front portion and newer products to the rear portion of the surface. The shelf basket is temporarily attached to the display shelf, preferably by inserting basket support arms into holes located on the display shelf.
A method is provided to use the shelf basket for product rotation by temporarily attaching the basket to the display shelf; removing old product from a row of product display; determining the number of new containers necessary to fill the row; placing the proper number of new containers in the row; removing the old product from the basket and placing the old products in front of the new products in order to fill the row; and removing the shelf basket from the display row.
Another method according to the invention is a method for arranging and displaying products generally forming a queue and taking an inventory, comprising the steps of providing a shelf generally for receiving products to be displayed and having a front and rear portion; providing products having front and rear sides for arrangement and display on the shelf generally in a queue having a front and rear product; and providing an arranging means for placement on the shelf. The arranging means comprises a pair of slide rails, the slide rails defining a channel for receiving the products. The arranging means further has a rear element adapted to engage the rear product in the queue from the rear side of the product, thereby allowing the rear product to be engaged by the rear element for movement from a position in the rear portion to a predetermined position closer to the front portion of the surface. The method further comprises positioning the products in the channel generally in the form of a queue; selectively moving the products manually from the rear portion of the shelf towards the front portion of the shelf by applying a force to the slide rails generally in a direction of the front portion of the shelf, thereby engaging the rear product with the rear element until the first product is located at a predetermined position near the front portion of the shelf; reading the indicia to determine the number of products remaining in the queue; and finally, returning the device to its original position by applying a force on the slide rails generally in a direction of the rear portion of the shelf until the device reaches its original position.
Another embodiment incorporates a product support base with raised tabs to support a row of product containers and to permit the slide rails to slide underneath product containers.